1. Related Technical Fields
Related technical fields include navigation apparatuses, and more particularly, a navigation apparatuses providing a moving 3D image on a route guidance screen.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, navigation apparatuses for aiding in the navigation of vehicles have become very popular. Such a navigation apparatus searches for a route from a starting point to a destination, detects a current position of a vehicle by means of a GPS (Global Positioning System) and/or a gyro, and displays the route to the destination and the current position of the vehicle. It is important for such a navigation apparatus to provide an understandable display to a driver of the vehicle. For example, a navigation apparatus for a vehicle disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-115529 provides a 3D (3D) movie which is presented from the viewpoint of a driver.
The navigation apparatus disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-115529 provides guidance regarding an intersection by drawing a route on a 3D map in which structures, such as buildings, are displayed. When a two-dimensional map is used, the driver needs to figure out how the two-dimensional map corresponds to the real view. However, the navigation apparatus with the structure disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-115529 displays a 3D movie, so that it is easier for the driver to compare the map with the real view.
As shown in FIG. 12, to generate the 3D movie, the navigation apparatus measures off 3D map data 102 in rectangular regions (each rectangular region is denoted by reference numeral 100 and all of the rectangular regions include a route 101). The navigation apparatus selects one of the rectangular regions 100 corresponding to the current position of the vehicle, reads data of the rectangular region 100 stored in a memory, and generates the 3D movie on the basis of the read data.